Freshmen
by MikQueen
Summary: "I hated the idea of a high school sweetheart. Growing up, it made me sick. But then it just happened I fell in love."
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter_ _ **1—** Anxiety_**

"Duck, I'm only moving twenty minutes away," Clementine explained, trying to reassure her best friend while folding a pair of jeans and placing them into a cardboard box labeled "CLEM'S BOTTOMS" in big red Sharpie bubble letters. She turned to him, "I'll call often and ride the bus over here to see you."

Kenneth Jr., primarily known as Duck, looked back at Clementine with his large brown orbs, reminding her of a puppy. "But it's not the same," he whined as he sat down on the freshly-vacuumed, beige carpeted floor, his back leaned against the wall. "I already won't be able to see you everyday because you won't be living across the hall from me anymore, and now I can't even see you at school."

Finished packing her clothes, Clementine shut the flaps of the box before her and taped it shut. "Duck," she sighed as she lifted the box and placed it next to the door on top of three other boxes filled with her clothing. "It's not the end of the world. Hardly anything will change. You're still gonna be my best friend, and you're still gonna see me. The only difference is that I will only be a few miles away instead of next door." Clementine turned towards Duck, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. "Besides who else are you going to obsess over The Walking Dead with?"

Clementine walked over to Duck and laid down, placing her head in his lap. As she stared at the white walls and she ran her fingers along the rough beige carpet that she had grown to love, she thought back to when she and Duck first met. She remembered moving into that apartment when her adoptive father, Lee, had taken her in as his foster child when she was eight. Her parents, Ed and Diana had died, tragically and unexpectedly, the year before.

As anyone could imagine, Clementine had been distraught. Her parents had died without having written a will stating who was to take care of her, she had no aunts or uncles, her paternal grandparents had passed away, and her maternal grandparents were in a nursing home. She had no family left and she had been thrust into the foster system. She had to leave most of her belongings behind as her house got sold off. She'd had nowhere to put her stuff as the homes she lived in as a foster child wouldn't allow her to keep much.

Life as she'd known it was forever changed, for the worst. That was until she came to live with Lee Everett, a 30-year old divorcé new to the foster system. Clementine remembered the initial fear she had for Lee when she first moved in with him. Men in majority of the foster homes she had visited didn't exactly treat her kindly. Her instincts had told her to avoid him, but Lee had a different agenda. He had seen the fear in her eyes and he planned to look over her until she felt safe again. It took time but Lee managed it with the help of the Hammons.

The Hammons—Kenneth, Katjaa, and Kenny Jr. (who had been affectionately nicknamed Duck for his constant "quacking")—were the family across the hall from Lee. They'd helped Lee welcome Clementine to their apartment complex. Duck upon meeting young Clementine, had quickly taken her under his wing and the two have been best friends for the entire duration of her time with Lee.

A sudden knock on the door startled the teens who had both been zoning out. Duck, who had been subconsciously running his fingers through Clementine's hair, quickly withdrew his hand from the coiled strands, a blush forming on his face. Clementine hadn't really minded, it felt nice.

A few seconds later, Lee poked his head into the desolate room, his cool aura and the smell of Old Spice enveloping the space. "Hey sweet pea," he addressed Clementine. "You finished packing?"

Head still resting on Duck's lap, Clementine looked up at her guardian. "Yes, Lee. I'm ready to go whenever," She replied.

"Okay then." Lee turned to Duck. "I ordered up a pizza. You wanna stay for dinner?" Duck's face lit up at the offer, as it does every time food is mentioned. "Aww man, would I! I'm so hungry!"

Lee chuckled shaking his head, "I'd figured you were. You always are." Lee exits the room closing the door behind him.

Duck glanced down at Clem and noticed her eyes were closed, but she wasn't sleeping, probably just relaxing. He took the time to admire her features, which had become one of his favorite hobbies.

Duck was definitely a good-looking young man. He had a bright smile that showed a bright white row of straight teeth, cute freckles splattered across his nose and cheeks, and a muscular frame that he'd earned as a result from all the sports he'd played. He was a triathlete, specializing in soccer, baseball, and football. He had no trouble with the ladies. Clementine had once called him a hoe because he had been with like 10 girls (that she knew of at that time. He had just turned sixteen and he'd already swiped his V-card.

Yet, recently, Duck had taken a break from relationships and one nightstands. He'd finally come to the conclusion that he was in love with his best friend. He supposed he'd been in love with her for years. When he slept with other girls, he knew he was supposed to feel something for them, but he never did. It was only when he thought of Clementine that he was able to enjoy himself.

Only recently, however, had he been really realizing and accepting his feelings. Starting about three months ago, he had been finding himself fantasizing and having dreams about Clementine. Touching her, kissing her, marrying her…making love to her. But he hadn't said anything about it to her. He was terrified he'd lose her, not just as his girlfriend—that is, if she accepted whatever love confession he made to her—but as his best friend.

Before he knew it, Clementine's eyes fluttered open revealing her golden eyes and as he stared down at her beauty he decided right then and there that he was going to tell her. "Hey Clem," Duck said taking Clementine's right hand in his left. He looked her in the eyes as he opened his mouth.

"I lo-, er, I'm gonna miss you."

He mentally kicked himself. 'Just tell her, dumbass!' he thought to himself. But something in him, that nagging fear, was preventing him to confess his feelings.

"I'll miss you too, Ducky," Clementine replied pinching his cheek, completely unaware of her best friend's inner turmoil. "But stop being so dramatic. I'm not going to be that far away."

Feeling defeated, Duck nodded, rising to his feet, pulling Clementine up with him. Duck shoved his sadness and longing down, so that he wouldn't cause his friend to worry. So he turned to her with a manufactured smile. "Let's go eat!" he exclaimed happily—or so Clementine thought—dragging her small frame along into the dining room.

With all of their furniture at their new condo in Marietta, Lee and Clementine had no dining table so they, along with Duck, dined on the floor. They laughed as they ate their pizza, recalling happy, funny, and embarrassing events that had happened in that apartment. Like the one time Duck had stayed the night and had run around the place naked when he thought he'd seen a rat run across the bathroom floor right when he'd gotten out of the shower. But it was only a dust bunny getting blown by the AC. Or the time when Clementine had put a plastic bug under Duck's pillow and he got revenge by putting a real one under hers.

When came time for all of them to leave so that Duck could get home and Lee and Clementine could get to their new home, Duck, like a true gentleman, grabbed all of her boxes of clothes placed them in the trunk of Lee's car. Most of their furniture and belongings had been transported to the new house the day prior via moving truck so there wasn't much that Lee and Clementine had to take with them. Slamming the trunk closed, Duck turned to Lee and shook his hand vigorously, but firmly. "Bye, Lee. Take care."

"You too, Duck. And tell Kenny and Kat, goodbye for us when they get back." Lee glanced between Duck and Clementine before focusing his eyes on Duck. "I'll let you two have a minute."

Duck nods and Lee walked around to the driver's side of the car and started the engine.

"See you later, Robin," Clementine said, wrapping her "partner in crime" in a hug. "See you later, Batgirl," Duck replied as he buried his face into her loose black hair. It was hard for him to wrap his head around the fact that his childhood friend was actually leaving. He wanted to tell Lee not to make them move, that they should stay in Atlanta. That Clementine should stay in Atlanta. With him.

But he couldn't find the heart to do so. As she let him go and waved goodbye while she walked to the car, he couldn't help but get the feeling that he had passed up his last chance to let her know his true feelings.

Clementine slid into the passenger seat of Lee's silver Prius, shutting the door behind her. After she clicked herself into her seatbelt, Lee accelerated and the two left their old home behind.

Nodding her head and mouthing the words to the rap song softly playing through the speakers connected to the radio, Clementine looked over to Lee, who had a Cheshire cat grin spread across his face.

"Why are you smiling like that?" she asked, demandingly. Clementine didn't see what could possibly be amusing. They had just left the home they'd been in for seven years and both of them had left their best friends, as Lee and Kenny were close. In her opinion, there wasn't really anything to be that happy about.

Lee just shook his head, chuckling. "You're really naive, you know that."

Clementine stopped bopping to the music. She raised an eyebrow, clueless as to what her adoptive father was trying to insinuate. "What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"How do you not see how much that boy likes you?"

Clementine had been taken aback by this statement. "Who? Duck?"

"Who else?"

She shook her head incredulously in denial. "Duck like me?" Clementine scoffed. "I don't think so. We're just really close friends."

"Whatever you say," he replied, still grinning with sarcasm lacing his words.

Clementine was utterly shocked by Lee's statement. She really didn't think Duck liked her like that. Sure, they held hands and were more touchy-feely than most people, but that was more of a brother-sister thing than an "I-am-in-love-with-you" type thing, in her opinion.

Conversely, Lee was highly positive of Duck's feelings for his daughter. For as long as he could remember, Duck was always looking at her longingly and trying to hold her hand. He just put two and two together. Although he loved Duck—the boy was his godson after all—he knew that Duck had been a little...promiscuous—for lack of better phrasing—which of course made Lee a little wary of his intentions toward Clementine. But lately, he had taken note that Duck had settled down with all those other girls and began focusing exclusively on Clementine, which made Lee a lot more open to the idea of the two becoming more than best friends.

But Lee wasn't sure if his daughter was cognizant of her best friend's flirtatious mannerisms. He wasn't even sure if she if she'd ever had a boyfriend. Or maybe she had, and just didn't tell him. Lee's mind started to run wild, with questions about her love life. Had she kissed a boy? Had she been in a relationship? Had she...been intimate before? He decided that he should ask her some questions just to make sure he knows what kind of things she's been doing and if she had she's being safe in doing them.

Breaking the silence, Lee cleared his throat grabbing Clementine's attention.

"So, er, Clementine, how've you been doing?"

"Fine." She raised an eyebrow skeptical of Lee's unsure tone. The same one he used when he gave her the birds and the bees talk.

"Lee," Clementine started."You're using your "time-to-talk-about-something-awkward" voice. What's up?"

"Well, it's come to my attention that we haven't talked much about your dating life," Lee says.

"Ha," she scoffed, surprise. "What dating life?" Sure, she'd had crushes, but they were just that, short bouts of what she thought was love, but was simply infatuation.

Once she'd had a crush on Duck when they were in the 5th grade. She had been so sure that the two were "destined to be together." But after he got his first girlfriend, that destiny she had manufactured in her head faded away.

Despite not really "like-liking" him anymore, she still, obviously, found Duck attractive; most girls did. She wasn't completely oblivious to his boyish charm. But Duck had so many flings, that she probably wouldn't be able to take him seriously of he were to ask her out.

She'd had crushes on his other friends Ben and Travis in the 6th and 7th grades respectively. But those were brief and fleeting and not really noteworthy. Other than that she'd never really been interested in anyone. And no one had shown interest in her, for that matter.

"Come on, Clem," Lee chuckled. "You're telling me you haven't had any crushes?"

Clementine debated whether she should tell Lee about her crushes on Duck, Ben, and Travis, but she decided they were all inconsequential and unnecessary to explain. But she needed something to make him stop asking so many probing questions. She shrugged her shoulders. "No I didn't like anyone," she turned her eyes back to the road in front of them with a smirk. "But Nick from Pete's Bait Store is kind of cute."

Lee grimaced, uncomfortable talking with his "little girl" about cute boys. "I need to find a girlfriend quick so you'll have someone to talk with about this stuff and I can discourage your dating boys, not encourage it."

Clementine agreed with a giggle. As long as he had been her guardian, he hadn't been in any real relationships. Save for a few dates here and there, Lee hadn't been with anyone. Many teens would feel hurt or resentment towards their parent if they attempted to get in a relationship and bring someone new to the family.

Clementine, on the other hand, really just wanted Lee to be happy, and if he needed to find someone to make him happy, then she would support him. It was the least she could do considering all that he had done for her.

"So Clem are you excited for freshman year," Lee asked. He couldn't hide the excitement in his own voice. His only child was finally going to high school!

But Clementine shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. High school, to me, seems kind of overrated. I wouldn't be surprised if my experience was uneventful. I'm not exactly homecoming queen material."

"Eh, I don't know about all that Clem. For me, high school was one of the best times of my life." Lee looked to her with a warm smile. "Of course after meeting you."

The teen returned the smile but didn't respond.

'What could be that special about high school?' she thought. Duck had been a freshman last year. He was pretty popular—especially amongst the girls—yet he hadn't said anything about any mega fun experiences he's had, save for the the pranks he'd conjured up with Ben and Travis.

'Well, I hope Lee's right.'

* * *

'What would I do without music?'

That's what Louis thought happily as the sweet, wondrous melody of a classical suite flowed through his Airpods and into his ears as he laid comfortably on his king size waterbed.

To say that Louis liked music would most definitely be an understatement. The boy lived and breathed music from rap to country to pop, but classical was most definitely his favorite. As the notes came he tapped his fingers on his pillow, as if he were playing the piece on an imaginary piano.

Louis wasn't alone in his love for music. He was actually in a band—a trio. They actually didn't have a name yet, despite having formed just under a year ago. They hadn't found that memorable name that held a meaning to them.

He was on keys as well as background singer. Despite being self-taught in both piano and singing, Louis was still very talented.

Their lead singer Minerva had the same fire that he did for music. She had a unique sound to her voice. Real bluesy. Her voice was deep but she could still hit notes that Louis could only dream of hitting. Louis had at one point made a move to try to ask her out, thinking they could be this music power couple or something. However the redhead rejected him without giving him a reason. She and Louis were still friends, but Louis still tried to flirt with her on occasion.

Louis's best friend Marlon, was on guitar. Marlon definitely didn't have the passion that Louis and Minerva had for music, but he was mainly there in the hope that he would pick up chicks. Louis couldn't lie; he also looked forward to attention they'd get when the band went public.

As the music came to an end, another piece began to play. It was a song that Louis knew like the back of his hand. It was a song that he had composed and recorded himself. It had no lyrics yet, no instruments other than Louis's keyboard. He had come up with it the a mouth prior after a dream he'd had.

It was a serene dream in which he was floating on his back in the middle of a lake, with his eyes closed. He was sure the reason he'd dreamed that part was because he was lying on a waterbed.

As he'd laid on the water, he opened his dark brown eyes only to see a pair of golden eyes staring back into his. It was all he could see, no face, no body, just those, vibrant, honey-colored eyes that he was sure he'd never seen on a human being before.

But his dream was cut short when his lifelong maid and babysitter Bonnie had woken him up from his deep slumber. Even though it was a month ago, Louis am remembered the dream vividly. He'd never had a dream that felt so real—he couldn't get it out of his head.

The dream inspired him to write the song that he'd fittingly labeled "Dream" as a placeholder until he finished the song with lyrics. It was a song that started out relatively soft and grew increasingly intense as it came to a finish.

Louis never told anyone about the song—not even the band. This was something that he wanted to keep to himself, for himself. After all, the group would never understand the song's origin.

"LOUIS!"

Louis who had been smiling to himself, was suddenly snapped back into reality as Bonnie called his name.

"Yup?" he asked as he turned down the volume of his phone

"Did you want something to eat? Your parents are downstairs waitin' for ya at the table," Louis shook his head. "No, Bonnie. I'm not very hungry right now, but save me a plate of whatever you made, I might eat it later." Unfortunately for Louis, his stomach betrayed him, growling loudly.

Bonnie smirked at Louis, as he cringed. He threw his hands up in surrender. "Okay, you got me."

Louis had been avoiding his parents more and more often lately. But it was less of him avoiding his mom than it was him avoiding his dad.

All summer Louis's father had been pestering him about baseball. It wasn't that didn't like baseball; he actually was pretty good at the sport. Baseball, simply, just wasn't his passion—his music was.

But his dad would never allow him to pursue his music. According to his father, music won't pay the bills. In his opinion, playing baseball was Louis's only chance to earn a scholarship, so he needed to focus on the sport and forget trivial things such as music.

Louis's dad was by no means a bad guy, he just had a strict way of thinking that conflicted with Louis's dream.

"Hon, you can't hide forever," Bonnie said in her thick Southern accent as she sat down at the foot of his bed. She knew that Louis and his father didn't really see eye to eye on his future.

In her opinion, Louis should've been able to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, but Bonnie had been working for the Suliemans long enough to know how stubborn the big boss was.

"Bonnie?" Louis looked at her as he sat up. "What would you do?"

Bonnie pretended to look thoughtful. "Well," she started. "First I would eat some food."

Louis chuckled at that. "Okay, okay. I'll go."

Fortunately for Louis, his parents had already finished eating, so Louis just ate his meal of chicken cacciatore by himself.

Suddenly his phone vibrated on the table. He picked it up and saw that Marlon was texting in the group chat he had with his closest friends.

Of course Marlon and Minerva were in it, along with Minnie's twin sister Sophie and Marlon's on again off again girlfriend Brody.

Sophie and Minerva were antipodes—polar opposites. Sophie was always rocking bright colors that radiated happiness, while Minnie sported a darker style. Even so, they still got along well.

Brody was really nice and cool, but she also had a some psychopathic tendencies when she got upset. Once she had slashed the tires on Marlon's bicycle after he'd broken up with her the first time. Yet for some reason, they always went back to each other.

There was also Violet who was probably the meanest in their friend group according to Louis. The two butted heads about a lot of things, but in the end their friendship always stayed in tact.

Then there was Mitch, their resident troublemaker and bad boy, Aasim their favorite geek, Omar who was a pretty chill dude who always brought them homemade snacks, and Ruby who one second could be the friendliest gal you'd ever met and the next could be chewing you out for God knows what.

They were such a colorful, weird group of people, it was hard to tell why they were friends. The truth is they all trusted and understood each other more than anyone else ever could. They all had been in group therapy together back in 6th grade and they've been friends ever since.

Marlon: excited 4 tomorrow?

Brody: anxious mostly.

Sophie: Don't be! We're gonna have so much fun! I can hardly wait!

Violet: chill out soph

Minerva:

Louis: yay I can't wait to go to class and get loaded with homework

Aasim: As stupid as you are, you could use some homework Louis.

Louis: fuck you nerd

Mitch: lol

Ruby: haha!

Omar: y'all are too much. what do you guys want to eat tomorrow. I'm in a baking mood.

Louis: pot brownies :P

Mitch:

Sophie: 0:

Omar: -_-

Ruby: how about regular brownies

Omar: k see y'all tomorrow gn

Louis: but I wanted weed D:

Marlon: shut up man XD anyway I just wanted to wish y'all gn and good luck tomorrow

Louis: gn

With that reply Louis turned off his phone and headed upstairs to prepare for bed, as he was growing increasingly tired.

As he laid in the dark, Louis couldn't help but wonder what was in store for him at school tomorrow.

But as his eyes started to close and he started to drift off, Louis was left with the vivid recollection of the pair of golden eyes and he took that as a good omen that something good might happen to him tomorrow.

He'd just have to wait and see.


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER 2 — A New Day_**

"Ow, shit!" Clementine hissed, flinching in pain. Her right thumb stung from the minor flat iron burn she had just given herself. Eventually, the lingering tingle faded away after she ran her hand under some cold water from the modern, silver sink faucet in her new bathroom. In her old apartment she had to share a single bathroom with Lee.

Having to wait on one another and accidentally walking in if one of them forgot to lock the door was really awkward and inconvenient. Plus, it was really embarrassing for Clementine to have to put her feminine products in there for Lee to see when he would look under the sink.

Needless to say, it was nice having some privacy.

Clementine set down and unplugged her flat iron and looked into the mirror to view the finished product.

She smiled to herself, admiring her own success in taming the curly ebony mess that was her hair.

She didn't straighten it often. Her hair was usually disobedient so she usually opted to just leave her coils dangling or slap them in a low ponytail or bun.

But today she put in a little extra effort (and a little extra product) and now her hair was in straight locks that fell a couple inches past her armpit line.

She pulled her hair into a taught high ponytail, smoothing down baby hairs with gel.

Despite what it seemed like, she really wasn't trying to impress anyone or trying to get into the infamous high school "in" crowd. That kind of thing seemed overrated to her.

She might not have cared much about the "high school experience," but she still wanted to look presentable on the first day. Besides, she liked her hair better when it was straightened. She remembered that her mother liked to do her hair that way before she...

The teenager walked out of her new personal bathroom and into her bedroom. It was designed with a nice blend of colors: white, gold, and royal blue. Clementine now had a queen-sized bed with white and gold pillowcases and sheets and a cozy royal blue comforter.

She had donated her old yellow bedspread during the move and given her twin bed frame and mattress to her God brother Alvin Jr., the child of family friends Alvin and Rebecca Parks, who Clementine had babysat often over the past three years. In fact, she had given a lot of her old things to AJ and in turn Lee had bought her a lot of new furniture.

After searching through her dresser, Clementine set her clothes out on her comforter. Her outfit was stylish, but at the same time it was nothing special: just a fitted bright yellow v-neck with some denim cutoff shorts and all-white sneakers, completed with her favorite necklace.

It was silver with a chain that held up a shiny four-leaf clover-shaped charm. Duck got the chain for her as a gift for her 13th birthday to remind him that he was lucky to have her as a best friend. Clementine remembered that when he'd presented it to her, he had said he'd seen it and he just knew that he had to get it for her. It was pretty sweet of him.

Once clothed, Clementine headed back into the bathroom and debated putting on makeup or not. She figured she should at least put on a coat of mascara and maybe some matte lipstick (which was pretty much all she owned); after all it, was her first day at a new school, her first day of high school.

But then she thought, 'Why should I work so hard for these people that I haven't even met yet?' With that thought, she decided to put on a single coat of clear lip gloss before heading downstairs for breakfast.

When Clementine got to the kitchen, she greeted Lee—who was busy cooking up something that smelled delicious—with a peck on the cheek and hopped up on the cool marble counter. "Good morning, Lee."

"Good morning, sweet pea. You look nice today," Lee complimented, as he flipped the slices of egg-coated bread on the sizzling pan. She thanked him for the compliment, and shortly after, he lifted up the hot skillet from the stove, showing its contents to his daughter. "I made French toast and sausage if you're up for it."

She hopped off the counter, eager to enjoy the sweet and savory breakfast before she had to go to school.

Lee and Clementine sat at the table chatting and enjoying their breakfast when the latter's cell phone buzzed signaling that she was getting a phone call.

She picked up the phone and look to see the caller ID which displayed a picture of a young boy dressed as Robin smiling profusely with his arm around the shoulders of a tiny Clementine dressed as Batgirl. The name of the caller was simply a duck emoji. "Good morning, Duck," Clementine answered.

"Clem, how are you this fine morning?" Duck asked joyfully. His incessant happiness was infectious, and Clementine couldn't help but smile at his tone.

"I'm good, Duck. What's up?"

"I was thinking we should go to the movies later, ya know, to celebrate the first day of school."

Clementine thought about it and she didn't see why she couldn't go. "Okay, but you have to pay AND pick me up from school." Clementine was so thrilled when Duck got his driver's license last week. He was one of those kids that had a summer birthday so he was older than everyone else in the sophomore class. Now they could actually go places without their parents' chaperoning.

Clementine was sure that everyone back at Walker Academy, her old school, was gonna flip when Duck pulled in with his blue pickup that he and Kenny had spent the summer fixing up.

"YAY!" Duck rejoiced, as if he was relieved to hear her answer. Truthfully, he was nervous, afraid that Clementine was going to say no. It was the first time it was going to be just the two of them, so he considered it a date.

But Clementine, oblivious to Duck's intentions, didn't get why her best friend was so happy. They went out go out together a lot, just this time their parents wouldn't be there. But she decided not to question it because: free movie and free popcorn.

"Good bye, Duck."

"Bye, Clemmy!"

'That boy is on drugs, I swear,' she thought to herself.

"So where are you and Duck goin' today?" Lee asked after Clementine had hung up the phone.

"Movies," she replied with her mouth full of Lee's delicious French toast.

Lee nodded and was quiet for a moment. He was a little confused as to why Clementine was nonchalant about it. From his perspective, it seemed as if Duck had asked her on a date. But he wasn't sure if Clementine knew what was going on.

He turned to her. "Is it a date?" he asked, bluntly.

"Umm...no." It was just as he suspected. Was she really that naive? "What makes you think that? Duck and I go to the movies all the time."

"Well first of all, you two will be alone together for the first time. Second, he's paying for everything from what it sounds. And third, because it's clear to me and everyone around you that boy is crazy about you," he says, smirking. "Sounds like a date to me."

"Look, Lee. Duck and I are just friends. Best friends. That's it. Okay?" Clementine really didn't get why he kept telling her that Duck liked her.

They had been friends for a really long time. She figured if he did they would've been together by now, but they weren't.

If she was honest with herself, she'd admit that she had held a secret torch for Duck even after he started dating other girls. But she chose to let it go about 2 years ago when she learned from their other friend Travis that he had lost his virginity.

She was secretly hurt by that, but she didn't show it. At the time she didn't know why. In retrospect, Clementine figured that she felt something for him at that point, but whatever feeling that was had dwindled down into almost nothing.

Besides, Duck had plenty of short-term relationships and flings in the past, none of which involved her. In fact, just a few weeks ago, he was telling her all about some girl that he was crushing on big time, asking her how he should ask that mystery girl out. She remembered she just told him to "take it slow, get to know her, then ask her out on a simple date."

It was perfectly clear to her that Duck didn't want to be with her, a simple fact that she had made peace with years ago. She was willing to just be friends. In fact, she preferred it at this point.

She didn't want to be just another one of Duck's flings. Even if they were to date, she couldn't be sure that Duck wouldn't hurt her. He may be her best friend but she had to admit he was a player.

Lee sighed, resigned. She just...didn't get it. "Alright, Clem. Well, just don't hurt him. You two have been friends for a long time. Just don't lose him." His once neutral face turned into a grin. "Because you really don't have any other friends," he joked at the end.

Clementine giggled giving him a playful shove as he snickered.

"Alright, Lee. I gotta get to the bus stop; it gets there in 10," Clementine said as she got up to put her plate in the sink.

"Okay, sweet pea. You have a great first day. Try to make some friends."

"Okay, I'll try." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing her lunchbox and her purple backpack and heading out of the house.

As she walked along the sidewalk, Clementine continued to ponder upon what Lee had said. She wondered if she was actually leading Duck on. Even though Duck had grown and matured (slightly) into a charming, handsome teenage boy, she still wasn't too keen on beginning a romantic relationship with him. Their friendship was too precious to her. It would be tainted if romance were to be thrown into the mix. She was sure of that.

At one point Clementine might have been on board, but now after she'd seen him break so many hearts, she didn't want to be the next.

Besides, she wasn't really looking for a "high school sweetheart" anytime soon. That ideology was so cliché. She just wanted to get through high school so she could follow her dream of becoming a vet.

Little did she know, what would be in store for her in the next four years.

* * *

"Why won't this stupid thing open?" Clementine huffed in anger and slight embarrassment. She'd seen this kind of thing happen to so many people on television and in movies, but she never thought she'd be one of those cliché people that couldn't get their locker door open on the first day of school.

She had done it at her orientation, so why wasn't it working now? She tried again, 20-45-10. This time she tugged with all her might, jangling the handle multiple times. Finally, with an upward shake, her locker flung open. Clementine, with her quick reflexes jumped back quickly to avoid being smacked in the face by her locker door, but in the process she fell back into someone causing both of them to stumble.

"Aaah!" the victim of Clementine's locker-opening faux pas hissed as he collided with the ground and she landed on top of him.

'My life is full of cliches,' Clementine thought as she lied on top of what felt like a guy—a very fit guy, at that. "I am so sorry!" she apologized, and practically leaped off of the guy and hop to my feet. Taking into account her surroundings, Clementine could feel people staring at the commotion she'd caused; it was really unnerving.

As she brushed off her clothes, she took a moment look at the stranger she'd basically bulldozed. Her gold-colored eyes meet with a pair of brown ones. She saw a good-looking, umber-haired boy (probably a junior or senior, based on his size), with a little bit of stubble coming from his chin and upper lip. She couldn't put her finger on it but she knew when recognized him from somewhere.

"Here, let me help you up," Clementine offered, outstretching her hand, which he gladly took. Clementine, despite her small five-foot-four frame, pulled the over-six-foot boy to his feet using all of her strength.

"Woah, your pretty strong there, kid," the boy said, with a strong country twang.

"I take a boxing class," Clementine shrugged. It was true, she'd taken boxing classes for close to 3 years now.

"Really?" the country boy asked, sounding genuinely intrigued.

"Yeah," Clementine responded while placing unnecessary items from her backpack into her locker. "My dad wants to make sure I can protect myself in, dangerous situations. I take self-defense classes and I go to the shooting range every once in awhile."

"Damn, little lady. I wouldn't want to get on your bad side," he joked, his muscular arms crossed as he landed against the locker next to mine.

"You'd better not," she smirked, closing her locker. She glanced at a clock that was hanging up in the hallway. She began to grow worried that she was going to be late on her very first day at this school. "Anyway, I've got to get to class."

"Which one?"

"Algebra II."

"With Ms. Vigil?" Clementine nodded in response.

"Really? Me too! I can walk you there."

She raised an eyebrow, but eventually shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

As the two walked to class, Clementine couldn't help but wonder why this guy was being so nice to her. Although he was familiar, she was sure they hadn't met before.

The walk to class started to get more and more unpleasant as Clementine started to notice several girls shooting her dirty looks. One girl in particular, who rocked a stylish pixie cut, scoffed aloud and Clementine—despite the distance between her and the girl—heard her say to her little clique, "Who the fuck is that?"

Clementine, who had heard her fair share of insults in the past, simply rolled her eyes and continued on hey path to class. She found out it insane that she had only been in school no more than fifteen minutes and she already made an enemy. But Clementine didn't care. After all, she didn't really give a shit about what people had to say about her.

Clementine then turned to the boy she was strolling the hallway with. She was about to address him, but then she realized she didn't even know his name. "Hey dude, what's your name?"

Luke chuckles. "Oh yeah, we didn't get to introductions. My fault." He looked down at her. "My name's Luke Porter. And yours?"

"Clementine Hutchinson-Everett. Just call me Clem," she said quickly before he made the fruit joke like everyone did upon first meeting her.

"Anyway, why is everyone giving us, or me, dirty looks? Did I do something?" Clementine asked. Even though she didn't care if people liked her or not, she at least wanted to know why she had so quickly become an object of disdain.

Luke just shrugged, oblivious to the expressions of the girls surrounding them. "I don't know. Just ignore 'em I guess."

Doing what he said, Clementine chose to let it go. "Alright, if you say so."

"So what grade are you in, Clem?" he asked calling her by her nickname.

"I'm a freshman."

"Really?" Luke asked surprised. "And you're in Algebra II with juniors like me? Jeez, you must be really smart."

Clementine smirked. "I like to think so," she answered proudly.

"You know you're full of surprises, Clem," he complimented. "Strong, smart, cute." Clementine raised an eyebrow at the last comment. "What don't you do?"

Clementine didn't know how to respond to the compliment so she opted to stay silent. She really didn't have a clue as to why this guy was so interested in her life. There wasn't really anything that special about her.

As they neared a door with a golden plate that read ADVANCED MATH - CARLEY VIGIL, Clementine realized that they'd reached their destination. As Clementine reached for the door handle, Luke quickly moved to stand in front of the door, blocking her from entering. "What's the big idea?" Clementine thought as she raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Hey, I'm having a party on Friday," he informed the younger girl, putting on his best smile for her. Clementine couldn't help but be reminded of Duck whenever he tried to spit game.

"It's a back-to-school sorta thing," Luke continued."You should really stop by. Come on, it's a pool party."

Clementine had never been to a real party (and most certainly had never been invited to one), not counting Duck's birthday parties. At those, she usually hung out with Duck or played on her phone while Duck was talking to his other guests.

Clementine wasn't sure if that was her scene. But then she remembered what Lee said about making memories and friends. For him, she'd give it a shot. "Maybe it'll be fun. I do like swimming" she mentally convinced herself.

"Hmm… I'll think about it." She gave him a small smile as she walked past him and into the classroom. "Thanks."

The class, at least to Clementine, was pretty enjoyable. The teacher Ms. Vigil, just gave them a knowledge check to see what everyone knew. Clementine wasn't a fan of algebra, as she didn't see its application to real life. But she was still pretty good at it. She passed the knowledge check easily. Plus, Ms. Vigil was super nice.

However, the class didn't last long as the intercom cracked to life. "Good morning, Skybound High School," a woman's voice spoke clinically. But the voice was very familiar to Clementine. It made her squirm in her seat.

"At this time, all students and staff make your way to the gym where we will have an assembly to address school rules, regulations, and guidelines for the remainder of the year." Clementine gathered her stuff and followed the migration of students to the gym.

As she entered, she noticed above each set of bleachers were signs showing each high school grade level, so she made her way over to the 9th grade section. Upon arriving she noticed a lot of cliques.

Peppy girly-girls? No thanks. Sporty kids? Nah. Emo mood-killers? Boring.

Then she spotted them. An random assortment of kids who were chatting amongst themselves, all seeming very comfortable with each other. There were nine of them over there so she assumed they weren't an exclusive group.

"Well," Clementine thought. "This seems to be the most normal-looking group. I guess I'll sit with them for now."

"Hey," Clementine greeted, causing everyone in the group to look up. "Is it okay if I sit with you guys?"

"Sure," replied a boy with a terrible blonde haircut. "Plenty of room."

"Thanks." Clementine took a seat next to another blonde, a girl this time. The girl gave off a cold aura, as she didn't even acknowledge Clementine except for a quick glance and an eye roll.

"You new here, huh?" another girl asked. She was a chubby and jovial redhead who had freckles dotted all over her pale skin.

"Yup," Clementine replied.

"Well," the boy said, "You're welcome to sit with us as long as you want." He holds out his hand. "I'm Marlon."

"Thanks," Clementine shakes his hand, appreciative of their generosity. "Clementine."

Clementine was relieved that they had accepted her so quickly. She didn't want to be the weirdo sitting alone all day.

Marlon takes the time to introduce Clementine to the other people in the group.

There was Ruby, the redhead girl who'd spoken up before and Aasim an Indian-American boy. Then there was Mitch, your classic rebel and the twins Minerva and Sophie, also redheads. Cuddled up with Marlon was Brody, yet another redhead. They all greeted her warmly except for the girl sitting next to her—Violet.

"We also have someone else in our crew, but he's usually-"

"Handsome, charismatic, hilarious?" a voice said out of nowhere.

Clementine snapped her head in the opposite direction to find another boy slipping into the seat next to her. He had a tan complexion similar to her own with freckles spattered. He had his dark brown hair in short dreads and his eyes were just as brown as his hair. Across his face was a confident smile that Clementine just found to be goofy.

"I was gonna say late, dumbass," Marlon corrected, kicking the boy playfully in the shoulder with his boot.

"I'm not late. I build suspense." the boy responded, earning a few chuckles from the group, Clementine included.

The other people returned to their former conversations, except for the boy who'd just arrived.

"Anyways," he said leaning forward on his knees and turning his attention to Clementine who was hugging her knees. "I'm Louis," he said maintaining direct eye contact and holding out his hand to her.

"Clementine." She returned the handshake but She noticed that his hand lingered against hers a second longer than what would be considered normal.

"Wow," Louis said. "That's a different name."

"Yeah, I don't like it. It's kind of old lady-ish," Clementine shrugged. Her mom had gotten it from the famous folk song, claiming that it was such a unique and beautiful name. But Clementine just thought it was too country.

"Well, I like it. It reminds me of the fruit. I like fruit." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

She shrugged, brushing off his flirtations, as she was slightly irritated at the fruit comment.

Louis noticed that he had offended her, by the way her upper lip curled following his comment. He'd have to recover from that.

"Well if you don't like it," he started. "Then I guess we'll have to call you something else."

"Like what?" Clementine asked not looking at him.

"Hmmm… I don't know. What's your last name?"

"Hutchinson-Everett."

"Clementine Hutchinson-Everett," Louis said his voice bouncing on every syllable of her name. "Damn girl. That's a long ass name."

She chuckled, "Tell me about it."

"There's not much I can do with that name at the moment. How about I just call you Clem for now until I come up with something good?"

"Well, that's what all my friends call me." And by friends, Clementine meant Lee, Duck, Travis, and Ben.

"Then I guess we're friends," Louis smiled.

To that, Clementine had to smile back. She hadn't made a friend this quickly since Duck.

Before she could say anything, the room is filled with the ear-shattering blare of microphone feedback causing everyone in the room to groan.

A voice clears it's throat as the noise ceases. "Good morning, Skybound High. I am Principal Rapp" the woman from the intercom spoke into a microphone in the center of the gym floor. When Clementine turned her head to the voice, she was shocked at who she saw. "Oh my God," she muttered

It was Lily. One of Lee's exes. They had dated for around a year or so a couple years back. Things did not end well, to say the least.

"What's wrong," Louis asked noticing her reaction to Lily, or Principal Rapp.

I shake my head "It's nothing." Clementine figured she should just avoid her at all costs.

Even though it had been a few years since they'd seen each other last, Clementine was still uneasy.

* * *

Louis was nothing short of dumbfounded when he met her. He figured it had to be fate. It was as if his dream had manifested into reality.

Louis didn't even think that gold was a real eye color, yet there Clementine was, eyes like honey. But it didn't stop there. She didn't have any makeup on except a little lip gloss; she didn't need it. She was beautiful. Her face was unblemished and clear, save for a scar directly above her right eyebrow. He was glad that he had the next class with her; he didn't want to stop looking at her.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" Clementine asked as the two of them walked together to their next class. After comparing classes, he discovered that he and Clementine shared that next period. So he offered to walk with her.

Louis was slightly embarrassed that she noticed his staring but he still kept up both his bravado and his gaze.

"Because I like looking at you."

Clementine raised one of her eyebrows, an expression that she used a lot, Louis took note. "But why?"

"Because your beautiful, obviously."

Clementine was dumbstruck by Louis's boldness, which was clear in the way her cheeks turned slightly red.

"You're real straightforward, aren't you?" Clementine asked him.

"For the most part. I enjoy throwing people off guard." He says grinning.

"Well it worked."

"It never fails." He winks at her and Clementine rolls her eyes. As indifferent as she's attempting to be, Louis can still see the tiniest smile across her lips. That is all it took to satisfy him.

As they talked during art class Louis learned a lot about Clementine. Louis decided she was a genius. She barely took any freshman classes despite being one. Though, Louis did have to admit he was kind of upset that he only had 2 classes together; just art and gym.

But she was so smart and pretty, he was starting to feel as if she was out of his league. He knew he didn't deserve to be with her. He wasn't the smartest guy. At least, not book smart.

She was way better looking than him; she could probably date anyone in this school of she wanted. He was tall and lanky and had dark freckles all over his body.

She was better than him and he knew it. And he didn't mind that. To him, it was one of her most attractive features.

* * *

The school bell rang. Clementine had just gotten out of her English class and was on her way to get locker to grab her lunchbox. Louis had asked her to eat with the group; she told him she would.

She was kind of nervous, which got on her nerves. Why was she so antsy? It was just lunch. Not a big deal.

And she would've never admitted but deep down, she knew exactly why she was nervous.

It was because of him: Louis Sulieman.

Clementine, may have been clueless when it came to romance, but it was crystal clear that Louis was flirting with her.

Normally, Clementine didn't like it when people flirted with her so obviously. Travis and Ben used to do that a lot but Clementine always rebuffed them.

But for some strange reason, she didn't mind as much when Louis did it. In fact, she kind of liked it.

People had called her "pretty" before and she always brushed it off. But when Louis said she was beautiful, she actually felt like it.

Maybe it was because of that damn smile. Or maybe it was the way his freckles seemed dance on his face whenever he spoke.

Still, Clementine didn't like the way this boy she'd just met made her feel. Just as Clementine had started rethinking sitting with Louis and his friends, she heard Louis call her from across the loud, crowded lunchroom.

"Clem!"

When she looked over, she saw him standing on his chair waving at her like a crazy person. Now that he'd seen her, she'd have to go over as not to be rude.

"Sit the fuck down, Lou! You're so annoying!" Violet hissed at Louis punching him in the leg. Louis simply stuck his tongue out at her.

When Clementine finally got over there, Louis got down. "Hey."

Clementine gave him a smile and wave before addressing the group, "Hi, guys."

They all returned the greeting, and Clementine sat down in between Louis and one of the twins—Sophie, she recalled.

"So, Clementine," Marlon said, inquisitively. "What is it about you that has my boy Louis so smitten?"

Clementine almost choked on a piece of the bologna sandwich that she'd been eating. "What?"

"Yeah," Mitch chimed in. "He wouldn't stop bitching about, 'Be nice to Clementine,' and 'Did you know that Clementine does this?'"

"I think it's adorable," Sophie says in a cheery voice.

Clementine's cheeks redden in embarrassment as each person in their group gives their two cents on Louis's crush on Clementine.

Louis, however, was not particularly embarrassed by the conversation at hand. He enjoyed seeing Clementine's face turn tomato red. It was cute to him.

So he just watched as the table bickered about them, while he munched on a shiny red apple.

"Hey Clementine!"

The table stopped talking to look at Luke who was jogging over to the table. "I've been lookin' everywhere for ya."

"Hey, Luke." Clementine replied."What's up?" Clementine could only wonder what he wanted.

He smoothly swipes a chair from a nearby table and pulls it up to the table and looks at me with a smile that I return. "So, you comin' to my little shindig?" he asked.

Clementine was shocked to say the least. She didn't realize he cares this much.

Clementine looked over at her other new companions who were looking at her incredulously. Then she had the idea to ask Luke if they could come.

The first reason is because she didn't want to go to her first party and be alone, as she was sure Luke would be too busy hosting to pay her much attention.

Second she thought it was rude to make plans around other people without offering an invitation.

"Can I bring these guys along?" she asked pointing to the people at the table. "I don't think I'd be comfortable being alone with a bunch of upperclassmen alone." Luke's smile falters as he looked over at them. "Uh… sure." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Okay then. I'll be there."

"Great! I guess I-" Luke beamed before he was cut off by Clementine's ringing cell phone. She hurriedly took it out from her backpack, to see who could've been calling her during school.

It was Duck trying to video chat. She should have known it could have only been Duck. He always called at the worst times.

"Hold on." Clementine put up a finger telling Luke to wait a second and got up from the table.

As she walked away from the noise she answered the phone. "What do you want Duck? I'm at school."

"Hi!" He paused, taking in her appearance. "Your hair is straight! It looks good."

"Thank you."

"Are you having a good day?"

"Yes, I am. Is that all?" Clementine didn't like it when Duck called and didn't get to the point. He tended to do that a lot.

"I just want to know if you wanted to hang out on Friday too," Duck asked in a quieter tone.

"Sorry, Ducky I can't," Clementine answered. "I'm going to a party on Friday."

Upon hearing this, Duck immediately burst out laughing. He couldn't even begin to imagine how best friend at an actual party. At least not without him.

"What's so funny?!" Clementine said, her face scrunched up in frustration.

He abruptly stopped laughing when he saw her humorless expression. "Oh, you were serious."

"Yeah," she huffed.

"What kind of party is it? A sleepover?" He still couldn't believe it.

"Nope. Full-on high school party."

Duck goes silent for a moment. "Maybe I should go with you. I mean, you've never been to one and those parties can get kind of wild."

"I'll be fine, I can handle myself. Besides, I'll have a bunch of new guy friends there to look out for me."

Duck pauses again, looking anxious in the hoodie he's wearing.

"Clem do we need to have 'the talk?'"

Clementine rolls her eyes and grabs the bridge of her nose, stressed out by the conversation. "No, and especially not with you, Duck."

"Okay well I have a few rules." He holds up his hand ticking off each one on his fingers as he says them. "No kissing, no drinking, no drugs."

"All of which you've done before," Clementine challenges. She didn't appreciate how much of a hypocrite Duck was being.

"I still don't like you going to a party alone with a bunch of guys," Duck said growing much more po-faced by the second.

Clementine pic up on this,decided to ease her friend's mind.

"Don't worry. There will be a group of girls coming as well so I won't be all alone."

Duck wasn't giving up so easily. "Still…"

Clementine sighed. "Fine, I'll ask Luke if you can come."

"Luke?" Duck repeated, confused.

"The host," Clementine clarified. "Hold on," she said to Duck before putting him on mute and approaching Luke, who was still sitting awkwardly at the table.

"Hey, Luke do you mind if I bring one more friend to your party? He's worried about me going without him."

"Err…, the more the merrier, I guess," Luke forced out.

Clementine smiled. "Thanks."

She unmuted the phone and gave Duck Luke's answer. "Just don't embarrass me," she warned.

"I'll try. Love you!" Duck beamed.

"Yeah, yeah, Love you too, dumbass. Now get to class."


End file.
